Erikson and Goffman on American Identity Essay - 1241 Words

When foreigners think of America, they think of McDonald’s, the Statue of Liberty, Hollywood film stars, and the list goes on. In terms of Americans, people associate Texans with cowboy boats, Californians with surfboards, and New Yorkers with a snobbish grin on their face. It is true that all these things represent America in one way or another, but what exactly is American identity? Erikson’s analysis on American identity has drawn attention to four topics: Mom, adolescent, boss, and machine. He links all four topics together by using the myth of John Henry Hero. Goffman, on the other hand, develops dramaturgical analysis to understand human behaviors. He sees men as actors with different roles and these actors have to perform to†¦show more content†¦Second, parents do not satisfy everything the child demands, and the child feels neglected and grows distant from his parents. John Henry left his parents because his parents fed the dogs before they fed him. Thi rd, he left because he was sure that he could take care of himself. John Henry took into his grave believing that â€Å"a man counts only as a man† (Erikson, P. 299). Hence, in another point of view, he abandoned his parents just as Erikson says, â€Å"it was the child who abandoned the mother, because he had been in such a hurry to become independent† (Erikson, P.296). This abandonment also lead to another factor – rejections to intimate feelings. Erikson finds â€Å"not only the sorrow of having been abandoned but also the fear of committing to deep emotions† (Erikson, P.301) in cowboys because there is a mental barrier in knowing that they have abandoned their mothers and have been abandoned by her. Cowboys, thus, are usually rather lonely people. Their job will not let them see their family nor their friends very often. They are the â€Å"man without roots, the motherless man, the womenless man† (Erikson, P.299). The nonsense folk songs offer a funny yet sarcastic view of cowboys’ life – they are not bounded by relationships because they are not allowed to do so. This lifestyle,Show MoreRelatedSocialization And Its Effects On Our Lives1752 Words   |  8 PagesSocialization is â€Å"the process whereby an individual acquires a personal identity and learns the norms, values, behavior and social skills that are essential appropriate to his or her social environment.† Socialization applies to our daily life and it’s the most important process of human society. Without socialization the human would not be able to take part in group life and develop human characteristics. The world wouldn’t never be organized and everyone would have their own ways of doing thingRead MoreSocial Theories and Prostitution2468 Words   |  10 PagesSecondary deviance happens when the person accepts their deviant label. He or she then thinks of themselves as a deviant. Approximately, ten years later; in the 19 60’s the concept was expanded upon yet again by Howard Becker, John Kituse, Erving Goffman, and Kai Erikson. Howard Becker the author of the 1963 book Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance wrote â€Å"deviance is not a quality of the act the person commits, but rather a consequence of the application by others of rules and sanctions to anRead MoreSociological View on Deviance and Drug Use Essay8777 Words   |  36 Pagesexperience as somewhat unpleasant, but as the user imitates peers he/she learns to perceive the effects of marijuana as enjoyable (Becker 1963). Becker (1963) begins his study of marijuana through analysis of the historical context by which American rule creators labeled marijuana use as deviant in the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. The moral entrepreneur in this case is the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, formed as a part of the Treasury Department in 1930 (Becker 1963). The Federal Bureau of Narcotics